How do you approach your colleagues at work about their bad breath?
Thursday, July 29th, 2010 at
2:25 pm
Its my boss. she has bad breath and many people at work are bothered by it yet noone knows how to approach them without offending them….
Tagged with: bad breath • boss
Filed under: Halitosis
She could have a medical condition that causes bad breath.
Or she may not know. This is really a tough one.
I vote for the anonymous note, and be sure to make it sweet, just wanted you to know……
The dish with the mints is an excellent idea.
Jus say,
"Dude, your breath reeks……"
Jus don’ say it with a lot of other people around.
Print a note on the computer and print it.
(So there is no hand writing to be recognized)
Make it very polite and very short.
Leave it on her desk and make sure no one sees you.
Buy your boss a beautiful candy dish and you can all take turns making sure it is always full of mints.
Just roll your eyes and say "stinkeroony". They’ll get the message.
when she is around pop a mint into your mouth with a comment like ..I have coffee breath.. then offer her one.. she will never know.. and will probably take the mint..
If you have a rapport, tell her. If not, then eat a mint in her presence and mention something about eating onions and then offer her one. If she doesn’t take it at first, she’ll get the message especially when the whole office follows suit. ☺
Since its your boss I highly suggest discretion and subtle tactfulness…….offer your boss (act as if its like a spur of the moment thing) a "Breath mint" and take one yourself.
Later ask your boss have they been having trouble with their stomach…is it upset? Have they eaten something that didn’t agree with them? But weave it into the situation only if they show physical distress.
P.S. Often times a sour stomach or ulcers and sometimes at the beginning of a stomach cancer bad breath is very prevalent and is a sign of gastric distress. Also check next time the boss smiles, is her teeth shiny and white or are there visible dental problems. Tooth decay (cavities) and impacted teeth can cause severe halitosis! But above all my advice is to be very discrete, sweet and weave it in…not just blurt it out like a dork. I believe you will know how to approach the problem with a little kindness and show of concern…let the breath mint be like a casual offering (bring enough for those around you so its not so obvious).
Give your boss a kiss on the mouth and faint (or pretend to faint.)
kindly offer some gum.
Suttley leave a package of gum or breathe mints in clear view of your bosses desk without it being something the entire office is aware is going on. Make sure that your breath is fresh & clean as well. maybe she’ll get the point!
ask him if he knew anything about eating perfumes can or roll-on deodorant
There’s not much you can do. There’s always the trick of taking out some mints, having one yourself, and then offering her one.